Thursday, March 30, 2017

My Response to Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids' Article Published in The Hill

In a letter to the editor published in The Hill, I respond to an op-ed piece published a few days ago in The Hill by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. In that piece, the Campaign once again suggested that Big Tobacco is "peddl[ing] candy-flavored wares to kids." It also argues that the current FDA e-cigarette deeming regulations are the best way to: "ensure that smokers have access to products that will actually benefit their health."

In my letter, I take issue with the contention that the current FDA regulations are in any way helping to ensure that smokers have access to products that will benefit their health (namely, e-cigarettes) and that in fact, the regulations make it nearly impossible for e-cigarettes to enter or continue on the market. Instead, the regulations protect cigarette sales from competition by much safer tobacco-free vaping products.

The piece begins: "In
his op-ed (“Congress, don’t help Big Tobacco peddle candy-flavored
wares to kids,” March 26), Matthew Myers of the Campaign for
Tobacco-Free Kids argues that the current FDA regulations regarding
electronic cigarettes do not impede the ability of companies to put
truly safer products on the market to compete with conventional tobacco
cigarettes. But the opposite is true. By requiring
every new product to submit burdensome and expensive applications, the
regulations make it nearly impossible for companies to introduce new and
safer vaping products into the market."

You can read the rest of the letter, entitled "Why is the FDA favoring real cigarettes over fake ones?" here.

NOTE: The letter mistakenly refers to the legislation as HR 1156, but the current bill number is HR 1136.

1 comment:

About Me

Dr. Siegel is a Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health. He has 32 years of experience in the field of tobacco control. He previously spent two years working at the Office on Smoking and Health at CDC, where he conducted research on secondhand smoke and cigarette advertising. He has published nearly 70 papers related to tobacco. He testified in the landmark Engle lawsuit against the tobacco companies, which resulted in an unprecedented $145 billion verdict against the industry. He teaches social and behavioral sciences, mass communication and public health, and public health advocacy in the Masters of Public Health program.